T.j. Thornton

American Heritage-Delray senior - Player of the Year

June 4, 2008|By Stacy Hicklin Staff Writer and Based on coaches' ballots

American Heritage-Delray coach Carm Mazza watched King's Academy's T.J. Thornton pitch two years ago and thought he had the potential to be one of the premier pitchers in the area.

Luckily for Mazza, Thornton transferred to his school just in time to realize that potential.

After struggling with his control at times during his sophomore and junior seasons, Thornton finally came into his own after becoming a Stallion as a senior.

"We weren't sure [Thornton] was our ace at the beginning of the season, but he started throwing strikes and getting ahead in counts," Mazza said. "And if you can get ahead consistently on any of your pitches, you can then throw whatever you want."

Thornton started the season on a tear, pitching 12 hitless innings - including a no-hitter against Class 5A Dwyer.

"He kept our hitters off balance and used his pitches well," Dwyer coach Alex McCall said. "He didn't just try and blow pitches by people. He stayed within what he could do. I was impressed with his composure."

Dwyer wasn't the only large school Thornton added to his win list. The left-hander also pitched his team past West Boca, Seminole Ridge and two of the biggest schools in Virginia.

Behind Thornton's leadership on the mound, America Heritage swept its district schedule for the first time in school history.

Heritage (24-4) remained undefeated until its 20th game of the season. Thornton was named the Most Valuable Player of the Orlando National Baseball Classic, which the Stallions won.

After going 10-2 with a 1.24 ERA and 73 strikeouts, Thornton is the South Florida Sun-Sentinel 3A-2A-1A Player of the Year.

"I think people expect him to be more of a strikeout pitcher, but he's more of a ground-ball pitcher," American Heritage shortstop Derek Niesman said. "He gets two strikes on so many hitters that they have to fight off a bunch of pitches. When they finally make contact [in play] it's a pretty weak hit."

Thornton credits much of his success this season to his development of a nasty changeup.

The pitch quickly became one of his favorites as the season continued.

Statistics aside, Thornton was most pleased with how he decreased his walks by nearly a third.

The 6-foot-3 pitcher will play for Indian River Community College next year.